After carving a place for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, the modern time-displaced town of Grantville, West Virginia has established its new mission and identity. Yet some have been left behind—people like goodtime Bernie Zeppi, courageous in battle, but a bust in life.

Bernie gets his second chance when he’s hired to help Mother Russia modernize. Now war with Poland is afoot and Russia is about to get a revolution from within—three centuries early! It’s do or die time for good-time Bernie. His task: to save the Russian woman he has come to love and the country he has come to call his own from collapse into a new Dark Age.

I enjoyed the story and found I could care about the characters. I don't like being set up for a sequel. The prices for the e-format books are way too high. I cannot afford more than a couple per year at these rates. I do not feel I received adequate value for my money.Was this comment helpful?
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2. Reece on 3/27/2012, said:

This is a good story. A lot more fleshed out than the series it is based on within the Grantville Gazette and the cliffhanger at the end leaves me hungry for a sequel.
However, there seems to be a part that is inconsistent or at least ignored. (Without trying to give too much away) the actions and motivations of Anya are different between the stories in the Grantville Gazette sequence Butterflies in the Kremlin, particularly the last (currently) written parts 7 and 8 (in GG volume 18 and 22 respectively) and the equivalent chapters in the book.
Comparing the dialogue at the start of Chapter 71 in the book to the equivalent dialogue in Butterflies in the Kremlin Part 8 it is seen that one of the participants has been changed. From this I infer that this is a deliberate change to canon which should probably be highlighted somewhere.
Personally I like this change but it would be good to see it mentioned in an Introduction or Afterword to the published book. If nothing else it would give the reader an insight into the creative process.Was this comment helpful?
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3. Eugene on 3/14/2012, said:

I suspect that this is merely a "transition" book to open up the writing field. Not bad, and I found it entertaining.Was this comment helpful?
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4. Leonora on 3/12/2012, said:

Although the short stories had appeared earlier, I thought it was a good book. It would be a good idea to put a little more depth in the characters rather than the technology. At the moment the changes implemented by the 'American' are too central instead of the characters.
Especially the characters in Granville could use some color. Also persons introduced towards the end of the story need to have some background attached to them to make them fit and have a purpose in the story.Was this comment helpful?
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5. Thanh on 3/8/2012, said:

Have read Gazette before. But I still find that this is interesting. All the chapters in one book and the story is expanded. Looking forward to next work in the 1632 universe.Was this comment helpful?
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6. Michael on 3/7/2012, said:

I haven't read the Gazette so this is all new to me. I really liked it. I will try to avoid spoilers so sorry for the lack of details. First of all it I thought the story was a lot of fun like the first book. It is a parallel telling of the story from the beginning. This reminds me of the Ann McCaffrey Pern books telling stories from the same timeline but from alternate points of view. Instead of the story about what happens when an entire town is transported into the past and how the population deals with it, it is about one person from that town who is hired away to work as a consultant in Russia.Was this comment helpful?
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7. jim on 3/6/2012, said:

A little slower than normal, doesn't quite catch you up into the story, but definately fits into the seriesWas this comment helpful?
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8. David on 3/5/2012, said:

I don't typically read Grantville Gazette, so hadn't seen the story before. I thought the author did a great job applying "1632" changes to the russian psyche and logically following the threads logically. Nice Job!Was this comment helpful?
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9. Brian on 3/5/2012, said:

I had read some of the early short stories this book was based on but stop buying the gazette for a while now so I enjoyed this. However, I have found the last few books in the series crap which (especially anything Virginia DeMarce touches, A. Dennis is mediocre) I have not bought the last few. This one I found closer to the first few books . It really sets up what I think is a more interesting alternative history than the main narrative.
I think most people fell short changed because it was not new material if one follows the gazette. Really I think the content in the book no from a gazette should of been published in the Gazette and let thous you don't follow subcribe enjoy the serial. Was this comment helpful?
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10. Melody on 3/4/2012, said:

As mentioned by the other commenters, most of the story is already available in the Gazzette, however it is smoothed out some.
The changes in the story were more disconcerting though, Anya the spy, my favorite character is reduced to just another chambermaid, I kept expecting an ending revelation that she was still a spy, but it never came.Was this comment helpful?
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